London, May 8 (UNI) Airtel Africa Ltd on Thursday reported a strong financial performance for the year ended March 31, with constant currency revenue rising 21.1 per cent to USD 4,955 million and profit after tax (PAT) swinging to USD 328 million from a loss of USD 89 million in the previous fiscal, aided by easing currency headwinds and operational momentum across its markets.

Revenue growth accelerated in the fourth quarter to 23.2 per cent in constant currency and 17.8 per cent in reported currency, supported by improved pricing in Nigeria and strong execution across the Group. However, reported annual revenue saw a marginal decline of 0.5 per cent due to currency devaluation.

Underlying EBITDA stood at USD 2,304 million, down 5.1 per cent in reported currency, with margins narrowing to 46.5 per cent from 48.8 per cent in the prior year. The margin dip was attributed to increased fuel prices and a reduced contribution from Nigeria. Notably, EBITDA margins improved sequentially from 45.3 per cent in Q1 to 47.3 per cent in Q4, reflecting a more stable operating environment and cost efficiency gains.

Basic earnings per share rose to 6.0 cents from a negative 4.4 cents a year earlier, largely due to lower derivative and forex losses. EPS before exceptional items dropped to 8.2 cents from 10.1 cents, impacted by higher finance costs following tower contract renewals.

On the operating front, the telecom major expanded its total customer base by 8.7 percent to 166.1 million, driven by digital inclusion efforts and network investments. Smartphone penetration improved to 44.8 per cent, while the number of data customers increased by 14.1 percent to 73.4 million.

Data usage per customer jumped 30.4 per cent to 7.0 GB, resulting in a 15.4 per cent rise in data ARPU in constant currency.

Mobile money services also saw strong momentum, with the subscriber base growing 17.3 per cent to 44.6 million. Mobile money ARPU rose by 11.4 per cent in constant currency, and Q4 transaction value increased 34 per cent year-on-year, bringing the annualised transaction value to USD 145 billion.

During the year, Airtel Africa rolled out 2,583 new sites and approximately 3,300 kilometres of fibre, strengthening its network capacity and service delivery.

Capital expenditure was lower than expected at USD 670 million, owing to a deferment in data centre investments. The company has guided for capex between USD 725 million and USD 750 million in FY26.

Airtel Africa continued to deleverage its balance sheet by repaying USD 702 million in foreign currency debt. As a result, 93 per cent of OpCo debt (excluding lease liabilities) is now in local currency, up from 83 per cent a year ago. Overall leverage increased from 1.4x to 2.3x due to a USD 1.3 billion rise in lease liabilities linked to tower contract renewals.

The Board has recommended a final dividend of 3.9 cents per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 6.5 cents per share, up 9.2 per cent year-on-year, in line with the company’s stated policy. In addition, USD 120 million was returned to shareholders through share buybacks during the year. UNI BDN SSP